‘Bittersweet’: SJHL conditionally approves move of Notre Dame Hounds to Warman

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s (SJHL) board of Governors has granted conditional approval for the relocation of the Notre Dame Hounds to Warman, Sask. for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

“It’s a little bit bittersweet,” Commissioner Kyle McIntyre told CTV Morning Live Tuesday. “On one hand, you have a historical program like the Notre Dame Junior Hounds that have been with the school for 38 years … On the other hand, SJHL franchises do not move very often.”

“Certainly, one man’s misery is another man’s fortune.”

The Wilcox, Sask. Based Notre Dame Hounds have been a part of the SJHL since 1987 and produced a number of NHL alumni including Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind’Amour, Jeff Ulmer, Wendel Clark and Vincent Lecavalier.

According to a message to its alumni, the school’s board of directors made the decision to fold the junior program due to “changes in the hockey marketplace.”

“The current financial picture is not sustainable and our ability to make the operation sustainable is limited,” President Charlie Skipper said. “Particularly, in light of the uncertainties in junior-level hockey given changes in leagues and systems of Canada and the United States.”

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Hounds’ Head Coach and General Manager Brett Pilkington has been with the team for the past six seasons.

He says he found out about the board’s decision a few weeks ago.

“[Notre Dame] has been great for [my family],” Pilkington said. “The junior program here has been a big part of the community itself.”

“You’d see that through our team being out there shoveling sidewalks or in the rink or the cafeteria and being a role models and leaders for the kids,” he added.

Warman franchise co-founders Cole Kachur and Jonathan Abrametz are leading the campaign to bring a team to the city.

“It’s going to be a really exciting new chapter that’s going to start [in Warman],” Kachur told CTV News. “Not only for the league, but also for the community.”

“It’s certainly our goal to build something very similar to what Notre Dame has,” he added.

The move is subject to approval from Warman City Council at an upcoming meeting scheduled for Feb. 24 and a successful season ticket and corporate sponsorship drive.

“It’s incumbent upon [the community] to come out and show us the initial support,” Kachur said. “From there, it’s incumbent upon us to provide them entertainment and a product that they want to continue support for years to come.”

Final league approval will take place at the SJHL’s annual general meeting in June.

Compounding Challenges

The Hounds are not the only SJHL team to face uncertainty in recent years.

Last summer, the Yorkton Terriers feared folding before drumming up its own community campaign to keep the team afloat.

“The Hounds have always been financed by the school,” Regina Leader-Post columnist Darrell Davis said. “The students are there and they’re not paying ticket fees. So it’s a tough, expensive team to support.”

“There’s no sugarcoating Notre Dame and the SJHL has had some major hurdles to come over in the last umpteen years,” Pilkington said. “The biggest piece of that was when Notre Dame went to pay to play for their players, to help with that budget, it was tough to recruit players.”

Davis believes other factors could also be a compounding challenge for the Hounds to be able to recruit players to the team.

“Especially now with a lot of the rules changing, a lot of these SJHL teams are going to be a little precarious,” he said.

Athol Murray College of Notre Dame has also been at the centre of recent lawsuits claiming bullying and hazing occurred between students.

“The prestige of that school has fallen off over the years,” Davis added. “The outcome of those [lawsuits] is still to be determined, but obviously that doesn’t help their image.”

Future Optimism

Despite the disappointment of losing the team, there is some optimism for what is ahead for the Hounds.

“There’s huge optimism for the future,” Pilkington said. “[Warman] is a hockey community up there and I’m sure they’re anxious to get going.”

Kachur said his ownership group has yet to pick a team logo yet.

“We have a couple in mind,” he said. “We want to make sure the team is embraced by the community and a big part of that is going to be the name, the color scheme and the branding.”

McInintre said the bones of the team’s staff and player list is expected to transfer if the team is granted full approval.

Something Pilkington says his players are looking forward to.

“Wherever the team moves, these players are going to have to play in front of some fans out there. That’s big for them,” he said.

-With files from Drew Postey